Preserved wood and method of making same.



Fill

PETER G. REILLY, OF INDIANAPOLIflTNDIANA.

PmfsERvnD woonrANn METHOD OFMAKING SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 20, 1908.

Application filed February 21,1907, Serial No. 358,687. Renewed Septemberlfi, 1908. Serial No. 453.356.

To all wimp-z it-may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER C. REILLY, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Preserved Wood and Methods of Making b ame, of which the following is a specifica tron.

My invention relates to the treatment of wood to av-serve it from decay as well as'to give grez'titer density and strength by impregnating it with the fluid constituents of tar.

The subjects of this invention, therefore,

are wood impregnated with a particular. compound and a method of rendering wood.

HH'PGIViUU-S to the action of water and other destructive inilucnces by impregnating it witlra particular compound.

in a companion z'ipplication, Xo. f-358,l$86, filed Feb. 21. 1907, l have described the particular compound referred to and its method of prcparaiion. The result of the process there dcscril'ied is a hydro carbon oil, de rived by the direct filtration of tar, which is 'l'luid at ordinary temrmraturcs and contains practically all of the oils of the tar. but which is substantially froc of solids in suspension. 'lhc oils which are contained in the tar. derived from coal, are many: among them is anihraccnc, which is recognized as one of the host wood prcscrvaiivc materials known to ihc art. The i a ralso cont ainsa. large quantity of free carbon in suspension. 'lhc purposc oi the broccss dc cribed in that case is io scparaic the free carbon l'rom the oils by simple, direct filtration,without the use of any other material, such as pctrolcum or coal ar spirits,- as asolvcnl for the la r.

Many a! Icmpls'havobceu madc heretofore lo scparalc lhc i rce carbon from iar by" thinning the tar with solvcnis and lhcn' 'iili'cring, the result of illis operation being thai' a considerablc portion. ol' lhe oils containcd in coal tar are precipitated or coagulalcd by lhesolvent and are sloppcd'by the filter, so lhat [licy arc losl lo the filtrate.

iicsidc which, lhc largo uanlily of solvent. spirits ncccssary to bc cmploycd renders the 1 process very expensive and dangerous, be-

cause of lhcir inflammable character; and

as far as I know. this proccss has never been enlployuad on a wm'ou rcial s alc.

iii-side i which, i is dii'hculi; to recover the spirit,

the very best material for the prcscrvation of wood because of its aniiscptic and walcrproofing quality and the fact that it did not deteriorate in constitution or characlcr undcr the influence of water or such acids as it, would be exposed to in nature, such as cxist in salt water and in the ground. lfurthcrmore, it is antiseptic as against insccts, but its intractable character and the impossibility of impregnating wood to any cousidcrable depth with this matcrial has prcvcntcd its use as a means of preserving wood to an eil'cctive extent,although it has bccn used and is still largely used for superficial coallogs.

The reason why tar in its natural stale cannot be used for thc impregnation o. wood is that it contains a largo pcrccntagc of free carbon, which gives to lhc ma tcrial a sticky, viscous character, and wh ch whcn the tar is appliod to [ho wood cvcn under vacuum or pressure, will stop the poi-cs ol' the wood and prevent the entrance of the lluid constituents of the tar to any considerable depth.

in my companion application, abovc referred to, l. have dcscribcd a mcthod by which l can cheaply and casily scparaic the free carbon iron]. the lar, lcaving all the oils ol the tar in a state ol' lluidity, unmixed. wit h l'rcc carbon, so that by the use ol' the ordinar method now employed for improg'uai ing wood I can cause these oils ol' the tar to Y pcnctraic thc pores and interstices ol' the wood andrcndcr it waterproof and aniiscpmancntly fill the pores of the wood and notevaporate at ordinarv i(I 1l icraturcs, and that it should also (XtOiK substanliall through the wood, for the reason lhal whcn wood is treated and put into scrricc in such forms as paving blocks, piles, or railroad lies, the conditions of service involrc abrasioirof the wood to a. considcrahlc dopi h and l'rcoucni ly to an almost complcio si-vcrancc ol' the wood. It is dcsirablc, lhorcl'm'c,

Lilo

v has ever produced a compound which has'the the wood with a material which will not .111 my companion application I have distinor the admixture of-materials' which would have the same meaning.

' page 457.

that the wood should be made permanently waterproof and antiseptic throughout its entire substance. This l have accomplished, and I believe I am the iirst person who has ever accomplished it in any form and with any material. I believe l am the first who property of making the wood antiseptic and waterproof, and which is not volatile. and of forcing that material into and clear through the wood, thus permanently filling all, or practically all of the pores and interstices of evaporate at ordinary temperatures and which Wlll protect 1t against all of its ordinary enemies and causes of deterioration.

ished between the old process of separating as carbon from the oils contained in tar by the use of the words ,direet filtration. By these Words l desire to be understood as referring to a process by which the free carthe oils of the ta r without the use of solvents thin the tar and precipitate or separate anyemploy the Words direct filtration in the claims of this application I desire them to The method'by which my processof imregnating wood is carried into effect is old in the art. It fully described in Lunges work on Cool Tar and Ammonia, 3r'd-edition, The material made and employed y me may be used by otherprocesses for impregnating wood without altering my essential process, which c i nsists of impregnating the wood with the particular material which I- have for the first time made or used for that purpose, and the product of this process is wood so impregnated.

In practice I employ a method which consists in heating the wood in either oil or dry steam to a temperature suilicient to vaporize and evaporate the fluids contained in the wood and the removal of the vapors thus formed so as to leave the pores of the wood ,0 en and unfilled with fluid or va-por, then f ling these pores with the preserving fluid above described by admitting it-in a hot stat e into a closed vessel contiiining' the wood under vacuum, and then applying pressure uponthe fluid in which the wood is submerged, so as to assist its entrance into the pores of the wood. Another old method'by which wood may be impregnated is to submerge the wood in hot oil of the particular constitution described above for a periodsufficient toucause the evaporation of the contained water and other fluids the wood, the removal of the vapors thus formed, and then subsequently immersin the wood while still in vacuo in cold oil 0 the same character, with the result thatthe hot vapor contained in the pores of the wood is at once condensed and the oil enters the pores under atmos heric pressure. Additional pressure may a so be applied, if necessary.

It will be understood that my compound derived from coal tar by the separation of free carbon therefrom may be used by mixing with it creosote oil, or chlorid of zinc, or sulfate of copper, or bi-chlorid of mercury, so to increase its antiseptic character, or the wood ma be impregnated with-any one or more of t eseagents and then subsequently of the oils of the tar; and therefore when l treated with my compound. without altering or affecting the nature of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: v I

1. As anew article of manufacture, wood impregnated with a hydro carbon oil derived by the direct filtration of tar, which oil is fluid at ordinary temperatures, contains practically all of the oils of thetar, and is substanti ally free of solids in suspension. I i

2. The process of impregnating wood for the urpose of reserving'it from decay,

whie consists of lling the pores of the wood with a hydro carbon oil denved by the direct filtration of tar, which oil is fluid at ordinar temperatures, contains practically all the oils of the tar and is substantially free of solids in suspension.

Signed by me at New York N. Y. this 9th day of February 1907.

PETER C. REILLY. Witnesses Bnssrn E. WASIIBURN, JAMES GILLIN. 

